Child of the Machine
by Trillian Astra
Summary: Sequel to "Who Are You?", featuring my new favourite ship: Jack/Jenny. With one very overprotective Doctor. Spoilers for "The Doctor's Daughter". Disclaimer: Not Mine! Please review.
1. Refueling And Getting Reacquainted

The sequel to "Who Are You

**The sequel to "Who Are You?", the fic where I reunited the Doctor and Jenny. After one of my reviewers on that fic mentioned that Jack/Jenny was a pairing with potential… well, it gave me the idea for this story. Apologies for the title, it's a bit rubbish but I couldn't think of a better one.**

**Spoilers: "The Doctor's Daughter". **

**Disclaimer: Here's what I don't own: The Doctor, Jack, Jenny, Martha, Donna, Gwen, Ianto, the TARDIS, the city of Cardiff… basically everything from **_**Doctor Who **_** and **_**Torchwood**_**. **

**Please review!**

**Child of the Machine**

_(with one very overprotective Gallifreyan father, a time-travelling spaceship for a stepmother and an Immortal for a (potential) boyfriend)_

"Dad? What are you doing?" Jenny walked into the control room, seeing the Doctor entering something into the computer.

"Oh, it's nothing. We just need to make a little stop to refuel, that's all."

"Refuel? Where?"

"Cardiff. You remember when you got pulled through the rift and ended up there?"  
"Of course."

"Well, the rift also releases energy. Every so often I need to stop off there, park the TARDIS somewhere safe and let her recharge."

"Oh. How long does that take?"  
"Usually a few hours, unless the rift's been active."

"So while we're waiting, what do we do?"

"Anything you like. Jack'll still be there, we could go and see him. Or we could find something else."

"No, I think I'd like to go and see Torchwood again."  
"All right then. To be honest, they need keeping an eye on anyway. Hold on to something."

The TARDIS shook as it moved out of the Vortex, but soon came to a halt.

" 'kay, now Jenny, if you go and get Donna, I'll just get this set up for the refuel."

"Sure, Dad."

Fifteen minutes later, Donna emerged, followed by Jenny, and the three left the TARDIS and headed for the Tourist Office that served as Torchwood's cover story for the rest of the city. Ianto was sitting at the desk, and he sat up a little straighter in his chair when he saw the Doctor come in.

"Ah.. Ianto, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, don't call me sir. Is Jack around?"

"I'll call him on the intercom."

Ianto disappeared into a back room, and emerged a moment later. "He's in his office. I'll take you down there."

"Thanks."

--

"Jack? Your visitors are here." Ianto stood in the doorway of Jack's office.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks, Ianto." Jack stood up, as the Doctor, Jenny and Donna walked in. "Hey, Doctor, ladies. What can I do for you?"

"Oh, y'know. The TARDIS is refueling, we needed something to do, so we thought we'd see how everything's going down here."

"Okay. Fine by me."

With that out of the way, Donna went to find Martha – who had transferred from UNIT to Torchwood a few months back. They had actually become friends, over the course of several rather sporadic meetings, all of which involved the Doctor, peril, and lots of running.

The Doctor wandered around the Hub, looking at the various bits of alien tech that were being worked on. He came across one particular object, and called to Jack.

"Jack! What's this?"

"What?" Jack looked over at the Doctor. "Oh… we don't know. The rift spat it out last week, we've been trying to figure out what it is."

"Do you mind if I take a look?"

"Not at all, go ahead. Just don't do anything that'll result in the Hub being blown up, okay?"

"Okay…"

The Doctor then started work on the as-yet-unidentified piece of alien tech… which left Jack and Jenny alone - Jack standing by the door of his office, Jenny perched on the edge of his desk. Jack noticed that she'd changed a bit since they first met – instead of the plain olive-green t-shirt and black trousers she'd worn then, now she wore dark blue jeans, black converse trainers, and a purple camisole. She also wore her hair down, instead of the plain ponytail, and he thought he could see just a hint of make-up. She seemed less child-like now, more grown-up.

"So, how's life with the Doc- uh, your dad, treating you?"

"Oh, it's amazing. We've been to so many different places, I've seen so much. He's taught me so much about… about everything. Um… except for clothes and things. Donna taught me about that."

"Yeah, your dad's not exactly an expert. Was there anything you wanted to do? Your dad's apparently found something to keep him busy, and Donna'll be busy catching up on the gossip with Martha…"

"Well… I never did get to see much of Cardiff last time. I'd quite like to explore a bit."

"Would you like a guide? I know the city pretty well, and your dad probably won't want you wandering around on your own…"

"Jack! I'm not a child, you know." She considered his offer for a moment. "But it would be more fun with someone else around. Okay. You can be my guide."

"Great. I'll just let your dad know then we can go."

Jack went down to the main part of the Hub, where the Doctor had partially dismantled the unknown tech and was scrutinising part of it closely.

"Er… Doc?"

"What is it, Jack?"

"Well, Jenny's bored, and she wants to go and explore the city… I said I'd go with her, just to look after her, okay?"

The Doctor straightened up. "As long as it's _just_ looking after her, fine. And if she comes back and tells me you did anything at all that I don't like, you're in trouble, Captain."

"She'll be fine. You really need to start trusting me, Doctor."  
"Oh, I do. I just know what you're like. She's female and apparently "cute", and that means I need to be careful leaving you alone with her."

"Doesn't sound like trust to me…"

"Sorry, but do you _want_ me to change my mind?"

"No, no, not at all. Sorry. Forget I said anything."

Jack made a swift retreat to his office, collected Jenny, and together they headed out. He took her out via the invisible lift, which thrilled her, and then they set off into the city together.

**A/N: Chibi!Jack and Chibi!Jenny keep disappearing together, and when they come back they always look sort of… pleased with themselves. I think they're up to something. Then again, Chibi!Ten and Chibi!Rose are doing pretty much the same thing. Maybe there's something in the water…**

**Anywho… reviews, please. Or I'll send a sugar-crazed pterodactyl after you.**


	2. Shopping And Other Adventures in Cardiff

The next chapter for you

**The next chapter for you! Thank you to everyone who's reviewed this and also "Who Are You?" so far… I really appreciate it.**

**I still don't own this, dammit. Well, in at least three parallel worlds I do, but I have been reliably informed that none of that counts here. Oh well.**

Jack and Jenny walked across Roald Dahl Plass in the warm summer sunshine together.

"So, Jenny… wait, what is your last name?"

"I don't know. I don't exactly have one. Do I need one?"  
"No, not really. Your dad hasn't got a name at all, and he manages. He does call himself John Smith sometimes, though. When he needs to be incognito. I suppose you could use Smith as your last name. Jenny Smith – it's not bad, as names go."

"Mmhm. I suppose. It seems kind of ordinary, though. I think I'd like something more unusual."

"Well… use Smith for now. Then if you find a name you like better, you can use that instead."

"What's your last name, Jack? I think you said, but I forgot."

"Harkness."

"That's a good last name. Jenny Harkness… sounds good."

"Er, yeah… you might not want to go around calling yourself that, though. Your dad might get the wrong idea."

"What do you mean?"

"He's a bit protective of you, right?"

"Of course he his. He's my dad."  
"Yeah. Exactly. See, usually… fathers get suspicious of guys who get close to their daughters. Very suspicious."

"So what?"

"Well… basically, if you announced to your dad that you were going to call yourself Jenny Harkness from now on, he'd start thinking that you and I were… um, that we were… y'know, a couple."

"Ohhh…. So, like when wherever we go, people always think Donna and my dad are a couple? Like that?"

"They do? Huh. But yeah. Like that, except your dad would probably kill me. Or have a really good try, at least."

"Right. Okay, I won't use that name."  
"Maybe you could ask your dad. See if he'd give you a Gallifreyan name."

"Maybe."

"So. What do you want to do first?"

She looked up at him, and smiled. "Well… I'd like to go shopping… but I don't have any money…"

"Ah. That won't be a problem, because not only do I know where the good shops are, I also have this." He pulled out a platinum credit card. "Official Torchwood credit card. I can charge anything I like to this, so I think I can safely say that whatever you want – within reason – it's on me."

She gave him a dazzling smile, and hugged him. "Thanks, Jack."

--

They walked away together, Jack's arm held protectively around Jenny's waist, and for a while all that either of them thought about was having fun and laughing. For Jack, having Jenny around was nice. She was so… young, and happy, and cheerful… she had an air of innocence about her, and just being near her made Jack feel happier than he had done for a long time.

As they wandered around various clothes shops, Jenny trying on clothes and Jack telling her what suited her and what didn't, it occurred to Jack that the idea of them as a couple might not be as far-fetched as he had thought. After all… they had fun together. It was easy to be around her. Easy to be _himself_ around her.

Then he remembered what the Doctor had said, took a deep breath, and did his best to forget that he had ever thought of it. And laughed when Jenny came out of a changing room wearing an odd assortment of brightly-coloured clothing.

--

As they stepped out of the shop, Jack's phone rang. He checked the caller ID – it said "Ianto".

"Ianto? What is it?"

"You need to get back to the Hub, sir. Your friend the Doctor… he's got a problem."

"A problem with what? Did he damage anything?"

"Not as such, sir. It's his, uh, blue box."

"The TARDIS? What happened?"

"You'd have to ask him. But he's running around trying to fix it, so I suggest you get back here."  
"Okay, Ianto. We're on our way."

"Oh, and sir… he gave me a message for you."

"Eh?"

"He said "Tell him that if he so much as touches her, he's in trouble." Does that mean anything to you, sir?"

"Er… yeah, unfortunately. And don't call me sir, Ianto, please."

"Sorry. Force of habit."

"You're forgiven. Tell the Doctor I'll be back soon."

"I will."

Jack hung up, and turned to Jenny, who was standing nearby with a selection of shopping bags around her. "I'm sorry, princess. Your dad's gone and done… something, and there's a problem with the TARDIS… we're going to have to go back now."

"Oh."

"…but we can probably do this again some time. When there aren't any emergencies to deal with."

"Sure, I'd like that."

"Okay, come on." He picked up the shopping bags, and they started back towards the Hub.

--

When Jack and Jenny arrived back at Roald Dahl Plass, they saw the TARDIS doors open, and the Doctor visible inside, fiddling with dials and occasionally kicking the console. Jack looked in while Jenny took her bags into the Tourist Office to keep them safe.

"Doc? Ianto called me, what happened?"

"There's something wrong with the TARDIS."

"Can you be more specific?"

"Uh. Not really, no. I _think_ it's an engine problem. She's running on emergency power, and only barely."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I need to take her out of action for a while, so I can fix it. And I need parts, if I can get them. Basically, it means we're stuck here."

"Stuck here? For how long?"

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair. "Could be a month or two, could be longer."

"Right. Well, the first thing you're going to do is come inside and calm down. If it's going to take that long, there's no point stressing yourself out about it now. I'll get Ianto to make you some tea and you can _relax_ for once."

"Er. Yeah. All right. That sounds… good."

"Come on, Doc."

Jack ushered the Doctor out, and made sure the TARDIS was securely locked up before heading inside with the rather frazzled Time Lord. As they were about to go inside, the Doctor turned to him. "Jack… you did remember what I said, right? About Jenny?"  
"_Yes_, I remember."

"Have I got anything to worry about?"

"Not at the moment."

**--**

**C'mon, people, you know the drill. You read the chapter, you head for that little Submit Review button down there…**

**No, seriously… see, Chibi!Master has got Chibi!Ten, Chibi!Martha and Chibi!Rose hidden and tied up somewhere, and he won't let them go unless you review. **


	3. Oops, We're Grounded

When Jack had _finally_ got the Doctor into the Hub, sitting in his office, and holding a cup of tea (courtesy of Ianto), he sat down. "Now, Doctor, tell me what you did. What happened to the TARDIS?"

"I was taking a look at that bit of tech you found… I think it's a radio, by the way… Sort of. Anyway, you know that piece of kit you've got in the middle of all those workstations…"

Jack suddenly felt very worried. "You mean the rift manipulator?"

"Oh, is that what it is? Yeah, that."

"Doctor… what did you do?"  
"I looked at it, that's all." Jack just looked at him, one eyebrow raised. "Okay, so I _might_ have experimented with it a bit. Thought I might be able to upgrade it a bit."

"Doc, in the wrong hands that equipment could destroy the planet and take most of the galaxy with it!"

"Well… um… so, this is what I think happened… the TARDIS was soaking up the energy coming out of the Rift, right? Well, she was behaving sort of strangely because of you being so near anyway… I think, when I was experimenting with your rift machine out there, I might have accidentally overloaded the engines. I had a look earlier and it looks like the arcton energy conversion unit is blown."

"What does that mean? _Exactly_?"

"Er… I'm stuck. The conversion unit's sort of crucial. Without it she can't fly, can't do anything."

"Right. How hard will it be for you to get another arcton unit or whatever you need?"

"Well, they're not terribly complicated. If I had the right equipment I could probably build one."

"Right. You should take a look in the Archives… some of the artifacts we've got down there might be helpful. Do you need any special tools?"

"Oh, no, basic manufacturing gear, soldering iron, that sort of thing. I've got tools in the TARDIS. Just need the ingredients."

"Yeah. So, how long does it take to build one of these units?"  
"About a month. If I've got all the parts. And assuming that nothing goes wrong, which could happen…"  
Jack felt like burying his head in his hands, but instead took a deep breath and tried to hold on to his composure. "Anything else?"

"Er… yeah. Your rift manipulator… I think it's functioning, but it might need a bit of attention too."

"If it wasn't, we'd know. But I'll check with Ianto, see if there's any change."

"Oh, yeah… Ianto… are you two still, y'know…"

"Er. Not really. We sort of… dabbled. He's great, but after what's happened recently things have changed a lot."

"Right. So, no-one else around?"  
"Not at the moment, no. Like I said, things have changed and we've been very busy lately."

--

The Doctor found Jenny sitting in the Boardroom, with her feet propped up on the table, watching TV and drinking a soft drink through a straw.

"Jenny?"

She muted the TV. "Dad? What did you do?"  
"Er… there's a bit of a problem with the TARDIS. She needs some repairs, and it's pretty serious."  
"Okay."  
"Jenny, we're not going to be able to go anywhere for at least a month. It'll take that long to fix the TARDIS. Aren't you worried?"  
"Not really. You'll fix the TARDIS, and while you're doing that I get a month on Earth. I like it here anyway, I'd like to spend more time here. I mean, it's great travelling with you, Dad, but I'd like to try staying in one place as well. It'll be fun, doing what normal humans do."

The Doctor was just looking at her. "Oh, you are so much like me. You're right. You should get a chance to stay in one place for a change."

"Besides, I like the people here. Gwen and Martha and Ianto and Jack. And Donna's friends with Martha, she won't mind staying here a while."

"Ooh, that's a point… I should find her, let her know what's going on…"

At that moment, Donna looked into the Boardroom, having heard her name mentioned.

"Doctor? Are you talking about me?"

"Oh, Donna… I was just going to come and find you. There's a bit of a problem."  
"What've you done now?"

"Sorry, but could people stop assuming that this is because of me? I mean, _technically_ it is, but I'd like everyone to stop assuming."  
"All right, all right. What happened?"

"The TARDIS needs some repairs done. Quite big repairs."  
"Like what?"

"The kind that are absolutely essential because she won't fly without them."

"Oh. How long'll it take?"

"A month or so, if everything goes to plan."

"So we're stuck here for a month?"

"Yep. That's about it, really."

"Well, it's not ideal, but okay."  
"You don't mind?"

"Why would I? I might go and see Mum for a few days. And this lot could probably use our help while we're here."

"Er… okay, then. I'll go and have a word with Jack, and oh… we're going to need somewhere to stay… I suppose we could use the TARDIS, but I don't really want to cause any more damage…"

--

The Doctor pushed open the door to Jack's office.

"Jack…"  
"What now, Doctor?"

"I've told Jenny and Donna about what happened… I was wondering, we're going to need somewhere to stay. Normally I'd use the TARDIS but with the energy levels so low I can't, really. Any chance you could sort something out?"  
"I'll get Ianto on it. He ought to be able to find you a flat or a house somewhere."

"Great. And we're probably going to need money, for food and stuff…"

"I thought about that. With our current staffing problem… I could "employ" you and Donna as consultants or something, if you like. It wouldn't be strictly official, but seeing as I sign the paycheques it doesn't really matter. We can work something out for Jenny, too, if you like."  
"Like what?"  
"Well, she doesn't really have the same experience as you do… I can put her down as a junior operative. It's up to you, though, being her dad."  
"I don't know… I'll ask her later. See what she wants."  
"Just let me know. I'll sort out the paperwork for you and Donna now… oh, uh… I'll probably have to pay you in cash. You don't have a bank account, do you?"  
"I think I did, when I worked for UNIT… haven't used it for years though."

"Right. Maybe we'll get one set up for you then."

"Er. Good."

--

As it happened, Jack found Jenny first.

"Jenny, are you busy?"

"No, what is it?"  
"Did your dad tell you what's happened?"

"With the TARDIS? Yeah. We're stuck here."  
"That's right. Well… your dad and Donna are going to work for Torchwood for a bit. Or at least, Donna will, because your dad will probably be busy with repairs most of the time. Anyway… we wondered if you wanted to work here as well… what do you think?"  
"I could work here? Really?"

"Yeah. You'd have to be a junior operative, because you aren't as experienced as me or your dad yet. It's up to you."  
"I'd love to! It's perfect, I'd get to live like a normal person and see new things at the same time."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Definitely."

"Okay then. Great. I'll get everything set up for you then."

**Now, see, I have a problem. Chibi!Five and Chibi!Ten are arguing about which is my favourite Doctor, 'cause I like them both but they apparently can't accept that. Typical bleep Time Lord(s). And I think Chibi!Jenny got her hands on sugar, because she's running around like a crazy thing. **

**And Chibi!Tosh is crying, and she says the only thing that will cheer her up is lots of reviews. And we don't want Chibi!Tosh to be upset, DO WE?**


	4. Adaptation, and Some Fun For A Change

**A/N: Chibi!Tosh has stopped crying! She says she feels much better now, and she reminded me to thank everyone who was kind enough to review. And she said I should remind everyone that Auntie Beeb owns this stuff. Not me. **

**Anyhoo… new chapter. This one involves some actual JackJenny stuff…. I would have done this last time but I needed to make sure the Doc was grounded for a while. So this is… domestic, and cute, and kinda fluffy. Enjoy!**

Over the next few days, arrangements for the Doctor, Jenny and Donna were made… Ianto was looking for a house they could stay in, and they were temporarily added to the list of current Torchwood staff – the Doctor as a Consultant, Donna as his assistant, and Jenny as a junior operative until she got used to everything.

In reality, it worked out that the Doctor divided his time between rummaging through the Archives looking for parts, rummaging around in the TARDIS, arguing with Jack about just about anything, and imparting bits of Gallifreyan wisdom to Jenny. And generally making the Hub even more of a mess than it already was, which was _really_ starting to annoy Ianto.

"Really, can't you do _something_?" He appealed to Jack.

"Sorry. The Doctor's kind of a force of nature. Best not to get in the way, and a real pain to clean up after."

"Just… talk to him? Please?"

"Because it's you, I'll try. No promises though."

Donna, meanwhile, had settled into Torchwood life easily. She didn't have much experience with aliens, but her first session on the firing range had been… impressive, and her long experience as an office temp meant that she handled the stacks of paperwork easily. Her efficiency actually made it possible for the team as a whole to do more fieldwork. For the first few days, while Ianto was finding accommodation, she had been staying with Martha, who she was really bonding with. The Doctor was staying at the Hub with Jack, and they had planned for Jenny to sleep there too… until Gwen found out and nixed the idea straight away, taking Jenny home to stay with her and Rhys.

Somewhat surprisingly, Jenny had adapted very quickly to her new life. She was bonding with Gwen, which was good – of the three women she knew, Gwen was closest to her in age (technically). Even the Doctor managed to dial the over-protectiveness down just enough to realise that Jenny needed a friend who was at least _close_ to her age. Or her apparent age, anyway. As for the work… the military training she'd been implanted with at her creation was useful. They found out that she knew three forms of unarmed combat as well as being very proficient with firearms - Jack didn't even bother giving her more than one session on the firing range. All she needed was one lesson to get used to 21st-century weapons and she was fine.

Jack wouldn't admit this to anyone for love nor money, but her skill in that area actually scared him sometimes. And the way she could take down a Weevil single-handed and with only minimal use of Weevil-repellant spray was just a little worrying too…

--

On the fourth day after the Doctor, Donna and Jenny had arrived, Ianto had a house organised for them, and he'd even managed to sort out basic furniture and a bank account each for the Doctor and Jenny (in the names John and Jenny Smith). That day, entirely by coincidence, there wasn't too much work to be done at the Hub, so the whole team went to help them settle in.

It was a rather nice house – big, situated next to a park, and in an area without too many curious neighbours. Just in case, though, it had a tall hedge running around the house and garden. There were four bedrooms – after a long talk with Jack, it had been decided that Torchwood could probably use a house anyway, if only as a place for guests to stay that wasn't the Vaults or a hotel. None of them had much stuff to move in… just clothes from the TARDIS and a few other items, so they spent the rest of the day relaxing. It was warm and sunny, so Gwen, Martha and Donna were outside in the garden, while Ianto and the Doctor headed to the nearest supermarket to pick up supplies for a barbeque (it had been the Doctor's idea).

Jack and Jenny were _supposed_ to be joining the others outside. Actually, they were in Jenny's new (if temporary) bedroom. At first Jack had been helping her put her clothes away in the wardrobe, but now that was finished they were sitting on her bed talking.

"It's a nice house, this. Ianto did a good job."  
Jenny shrugged. "I don't know that much about normal-people houses. It seems nice though. And I have my own room, like on the TARDIS."  
"Yeah. You should get some decorations… pictures and things. I know you won't be here long, but you might as well have a room that looks nice while you are."

"I've got some photographs. Me and Dad and Donna, mostly, in different places."  
"That's a start. We'll have to get you some frames to put them in."

"Jack…. I think… I think I'd like some pictures of you, too. And Gwen and Martha and Ianto. So that when we go again, I'll have something to help me remember my friends."  
He smiled. "I'm sure we can manage that…" An idea occurred to him. Jack took out his phone and speed-dialled Ianto's number.

"Ianto… are you still in the supermarket?"  
"Yes, sir."  
"Good. Could you get some disposable cameras while you're there?"

"Er… yes. Why?"  
"Just something for Jenny, that's all."  
"Oh. Of course."

As he put his phone away, Jenny asked. "What's a disposable camera?"  
"You know the photos you've already got?"  
"Yes. We used Donna's camera."

"Well, a disposable camera is like the one Donna has, except it has a set amount of film inside it, and once that film is used up you open the camera, develop the pictures and throw the camera away."  
"Oh. And it's just like a normal camera?"  
"Yeah."  
"Okay. Thanks, Jack."  
"Thank Ianto when he gets back, not me."

"I don't mean the camera. I mean… since we got here, you've been so good to me. I know it hasn't been very long, but you've really been looking after me. That's what I wanted to thank you for."  
"It's just my job."

"But… you took me shopping… you got Ianto to find a house for me and Dad and Donna… you didn't have to do that. Donna could have stayed with Martha, Dad would've been happy at the Hub, I wouldn't've minded staying with Gwen a bit longer."

"Oh… you know, Jenny, your dad's sort of… special, to me. And I don't see him that much, so I try to make an effort when I do. And of course there's you and Donna to look after."

"Well, thanks anyway, I appreciate it." She hugged him. It was meant to be an ordinary, friendly hug… but it lasted just a little bit too long, holding each other with Jenny's head resting against Jack's shoulder.

"It was no problem. My pleasure." He went to kiss her forehead, but that went a bit wrong when she looked up and he ended up kissing her mouth instead.

It only lasted about a second, barely counting as a real kiss, and he pulled away almost immediately. She sat up straight, looking at him curiously. "Jack? What's wrong?"  
"Oh. Er… nothing. It's just… that shouldn't have happened."  
"Why not? Did we do something bad? Isn't kissing allowed?"  
"That's not it, exactly. I made a promise, that's all."  
"To who?"  
"Your Dad. I told him nothing would happen between us…"

"Oh. Right. So it's not me? I didn't do anything wrong?"  
"No, of course not… I just can't, that's all."

"Oh."

Jack sighed with relief when he heard Ianto shout up for them, and left the room quickly. On the way downstairs he stopped to splash cold water on his face.

_Ohh… why her? Of everyone I know… why'd it have to be her? Anyone else and it'd be fine. Now, _he_'ll find out somehow and then I'll _really_ be in trouble_.

He found Ianto in the kitchen with several shopping bags.

"Ianto. Did you get everything?"  
"Yes. The Doctor's taken the barbeques outside already, we got the disposable kind. And I got you those cameras." He took a couple of smallish cardboard boxes from one of the bags.

"Thanks. D'you need any help with this stuff?"  
"If you could take the drinks and the glasses outside, that would be good."  
"Sure."

Once outside, they soon had the barbeques set up and a variety of food cooking. Ianto and the Doctor had also bought other things… like a frisbee, a ball, other game-related things, and while the food was cooking they played together – a frisbee game, a football match with Gwen, Jenny and Martha on one side and Jack, the Doctor and Ianto on the other (Donna was refereeing while keeping an eye on the food).

When they'd exhausted themselves, they collapsed onto the grass to eat. Later, when it started to get dark, they cleared away the barbeque things and moved inside, where they camped out in the living room. Ianto had had the foresight to get other food items on his trip to the supermarket, so pretty soon all seven were sitting on the various chairs, the sofa, and in the Doctor's case the floor, watching DVDs. Jack, Jenny and Ianto occupied the sofa – Ianto at one end, and Jenny resting against Jack at the other, with Jack's arm around her shoulders. It occurred to Jack that it was risky… but everyone was focused on the movie so he decided it was safe, just about.

**Guess what? The Chibis are running riot again. Well, sort of. Chibi!Ten's holed up with a stack of Agatha Christie novels (I just saw "The Unicorn and the Wasp"), and he's ignoring me. And Chibi!Master is smiling waaaaaay too much, in a really creepy way. Evidently he's up to something… and Chibi!Owen is being more of a git than usual, he keeps having stupid arguments with Chibi!Ianto, Chibi!Rhys, Chibi!Gwen… and possibly Chibi!Myfanwy-the-pterodactyl as well. Not sure how he managed that last one. But if I get muchos reviews, I can rally the other Chibis and they can strike back. Somehow.**

**You know what to do…**


	5. The Conversation Jack Dreads

**A/N: Just a short chapter this time… the Doctor needs to have a little talk with Jack. Oh dear…**

**Enjoy! **

As it happened, the moving-in session which had become a barbeque which turned into a movie night was threatening to become a sleepover. It was after midnight when Gwen left to get home to Rhys, and Martha and Ianto decided they needed to get home as well, seeing as they needed some sleep before work the next morning.

That left the Doctor, Jack, Donna and Jenny in the house. There was still a movie playing on the TV, although the Doctor had since gone into the room set aside as a study, where he was doing… something. Donna had fallen asleep curled up in an armchair, and Jenny was nodding off too. It wasn't long before Jenny and Jack were both asleep on the sofa, Jack's arm still curled protectively around Jenny.

The Doctor went back into the living room, and saw that the other three were asleep, so he turned off the TV. Then he turned and saw Jack and Jenny asleep together, and frowned. Jack had promised, after all. The Doctor made a mental note to keep an eye on Jack and Jenny from now on… just in case.

--

At about five a.m. the next morning, Jack woke up, and was initially worried because he wasn't waking up in the Hub as he normally did. Then he looked down, and saw Jenny, and remembered the night before.

More specifically, he remembered what had happened the previous afternoon. He groaned. "Oh, no…."

Unfortunately for Jack, the Doctor was in the kitchen at the time and had heard him.

"Jack? Oh, you're awake. What was the "oh, no" about?"  
"Er…. Nothing." Jack tried his best to look innocent. It didn't work.

"So, nothing happened yesterday that involved Jenny, right?"  
"Doc, you were with us all yesterday. You'd have seen if anything did."  
"Not all day. There was at least an hour when you two were alone in the house together. Could've done anything in that time."

"Doc, really, nothing happened."

"Really?" The Doctor sat down in one of the unoccupied armchairs. "Is that really the truth, Jack?"  
"Er…" Jack swallowed. "Well…"

"_Jack_..."

"There might have been… sort of… a kiss…"  
"What do you mean "sort of"?"  
"It was an accident, I swear. It wasn't even a real kiss, it was just for a second…"  
"…still about a second longer than it should have been, though. Really, Jack… you said there was nothing going on. I told you I didn't want you and Jenny getting too close, but…"  
"But what?"  
"… you go shopping together. You go out in the field together. Even at the Hub, when everyone's meant to be working, I see you talking, and laughing together… you spend a lot of time with her, Jack."  
"So? I like her. She's a nice person to be around."  
"Look, exactly how worried to I need to be?"  
"I already told you, it was just a kiss. Nothing else. And you… I stopped it, you know. I could have kept going, but I didn't. I remembered the promise I made you and I stopped. Wasn't necessarily easy, but I did."

"Ah. Er… sorry, I suppose. But… you stopping yourself once isn't that important. You're around her so much… there must be other opportunities. Or if there aren't, then there will be eventually."  
"Why are you making such a big deal about this? Are you scared I'm going to steal her away from you?"  
"No. Well… I don't know. She's my daughter. It's instinct, needing to protect her. And, I'm sorry, but knowing you as well as I do…"

"What?"  
"Let's just say you're not what every father dreams of for his daughter."

"Oh, great. So I'm not good enough for her. I had a feeling it would come down to this in the end. You're a… you can be quite the snob, sometimes."  
"Excuse me, I am not!"  
"Yeah, you are."

"Am not. Anyway. About Jenny… I'll let this one slide. But… just try and control yourself a bit better in future, yeah? Because if anything happens after this... there will be trouble, Jack."

"Yeah. Of course." Jack stood up, being careful not to wake Jenny, and went to the kitchen.

**So… y'know, Chibi!Ten's in kind of a bad mood… some reviews might cheer him up. **


	6. Throwing Caution To The Winds

**OK, I've been very bad. Sorry for neglecting this fic… I've had other stuff to deal with. You know, real life can get so inconvenient sometimes. Anyway, here's chapter six for you. The chibis are reminding me to tell you that I don't own Doctor Who, and that we really, really like reviews. Enjoy!**

When Donna and Jenny woke up that morning, they made their way to the kitchen and found Jack making breakfast. He'd decided to hang around for a while – seeing as they didn't have a car they'd need the SUV to get to the Hub anyway. Besides, he'd needed to think and the kitchen was as good a place as any.

He'd actually surprised himself – his breakfast efforts turned out rather well, and were greatly appreciated by the girls. The Doctor enjoyed the food too… but he kept looking suspiciously at Jack. When the food was eaten and the plates cleared away, all four of them piled into the SUV and drove to the Hub. On arriving, they found Gwen, Ianto and Martha already gathered in the Boardroom for the day's briefing.

It turned out that there had been a few possible alien sightings. One person claimed to have seen a huge flying thing over the Bay, which had apparently eaten several seagulls. The second sighting was a "beast" spotted in an abandoned building eating bits of plastic from someone's rubbish bin. And there was another weevil sighting to follow up on. Ianto took the "flying seagull eater", because Ianto knew the most about the pterodactyl and it might be another one. The plastic-eater sounded like a Hoix, and Martha and Gwen took that one… though the Doctor proclaimed the case "interesting" and tagged along. That left Jack and Jenny on weevil-watch, which made sense – they were the best at dealing with weevils. Donna got "mind-the-office" duty, which she didn't mind because it meant she got to sit in the tourist office and not go chasing aliens. As everyone left to deal with their own cases, the Doctor gave Jack another stern look, telling him _be careful _and _I'm watching you_. Jack sighed softly and went to get his coat.

He made his way up to ground level, and found Jenny talking to Donna. "Hey, are you ready?"

"Oh. Yeah. See you later, Donna."

"See you, Jenny." Jenny went outside, and Jack was about to follow her when Donna stopped him. "Jack…"  
"What?"  
"Why has the Doctor been giving you evils all morning?"  
"Huh? Oh… um, it's nothing. I accidentally did something he didn't like."

"Right. So you obviously haven't noticed the way Jenny looks at you, then."  
"Donna, what are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on, you can't be that clueless… it's pretty obvious that she _likes_ you."

"She's a child, she doesn't know what she likes."  
"Don't give me that. Okay, so _technically_ she's less than a year old. But when she was created, she was created _as an adult_. She's not a kid."

Jack suddenly couldn't look at her. He weighed up the risks of telling Donna the truth, and decided that she was pretty discreet. "Fine. We might have kissed. But it really was an accident, and I sort of promised the Doctor that nothing else would happen."

"Well, that was a stupid promise to make."

"Wait… what?"  
"You shouldn't have promised him that. And I bet you apologised as well."  
"Yeah."

"Why?"  
"Because… she's his daughter and he's pretty much my best friend?"  
"You need to stop thinking like that. If Jenny wasn't related to the Doctor, at all, would you still like her? And don't try denying that you like her, I know you do. You can be pretty transparent sometimes. So?"  
"Er… I never really thought about that. Yeah, I would."  
"There you go then."  
"Oh… okay, what should I do?"  
"First step is to talk to Jenny. Second step is to find a way of making the Doctor see that you and her might not be such a bad idea."

"Oh, _great_."  
"But first you should probably go and capture that weevil."  
"Mind the office, Donna."

Jack went out to the SUV, where Jenny was waiting in the front passenger seat.

"What took you so long?"  
"I just needed to talk to Donna about something."

"That's weird. I was talking to Donna about something too."

"Oh?"

"Yeah… it's sort of… private."

_Ah_… Jack thought. _So that's how she knew_… "Anything you want to talk about, princess?"  
"Er. No. It's OK."

They drove to the location where the weevil had been sighted, which was a patch of waste ground behind some shops in Splott – the kind of place kids came to hang out. They spoke to people in the nearby shops, asking if they'd seen anything unusual, and in particular anything that looked like a man with needle-sharp teeth in a "very detailed mask" (for some reason, the ordinary citizens of Cardiff always described weevils as men in detailed masks. Jack sometimes thought about writing a report on the way ordinary people saw the extraordinary up close and managed to convince themselves that it was a man in a mask or a practical joke when it obviously wasn't.)

That line of enquiry turned up a few people who'd seen a figure prowling around on the waste ground, and Jenny found a couple of kids who'd seen a stray dog that had been pretty thoroughly eviscerated. The next step was a little less exciting, as it meant sitting in the SUV waiting for the weevil to emerge. They'd managed to locate the area that it was likely to be using as a den, so now they just had to wait. After acquiring coffee from a nearby café, they settled in to wait.

"Jack…"  
"Did you see it?"  
"No. Um… I was talking to Donna before… and I've been thinking about what she said. Which is related to what happened yesterday, you know…"

"I think I do."  
"So. I decided… I decided to tell you. I think I should."  
He turned to look at her properly. "Tell me what, Jenny?"

"…that I… how did Donna put it… oh, that I like you. A lot."  
"I like you too."

"Yeah… but not in the way I like Gwen or Ianto or Martha… and _certainly_ not in the way I like my dad… this is a different kind of liking."  
"Oh. Uh… Jenny…"  
"What is it?"

"You know how I was talking to Donna too?"  
"Yeah."

"Well, uh, I just know I'm going to be in trouble for saying this… but I like you too. In the same way."  
"You do?"

"Yes."  
"Wow! That's great, I thought it was just me. But what did you mean when you said you'd be in trouble? Isn't it allowed?"  
"No, it's allowed. Generally speaking. But, um, it's your dad. He warned me not to get too close to you. That's what I meant."  
"Oh, don't worry about him." She smiled at him. "I can handle Dad, it'll be fine."  
"You really think so? Because… I don't think I've ever met anyone who can handle your Dad. Well… maybe Rose… but she's not around any more."  
"Who's Rose?"

"He didn't tell you?"  
"No. Sometimes he mentions her, but he never tells me who she was or what happened to her."  
"Oh… she used to travel with him. And me – actually, it was Rose who introduced me to your Dad. Back in 1941. A long time ago for both of us. She was incredible. Clever, beautiful… she would have stayed with him forever if she could have."

"What happened?"

"I don't know exactly. But she somehow got trapped in a parallel universe. There's no way back from that."  
"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I know why your Dad hasn't told you about her. They were close. Really, really close. I suppose it hit him pretty hard, to lose her like that. And… you look a bit like her. You've got the same colour hair, the same colour eyes. Maybe you remind him of her."

"Poor dad… um. Jack…"

"What?"

"I'm sorry for getting you in trouble." Before Jack could ask what she was doing, she leant across and kissed him. And this time it wasn't a light brush of her lips against his, like before. This time they wanted it to happen – even if Jenny had made the first move. There were a lot of different emotions in that kiss. Anxiety (on Jack's side), joy (on Jenny's) and a good-sized portion of relief. It felt like it went on for hours, but when they finally stopped it had only been a few minutes. They were sitting in the SUV, neither knowing quite what to say next, when Jack saw movement outside.

"Out there. It's the weevil. Grab some of that spray and we'll get it." They sprang into action, the immediacy of having a weevil to capture pushing all thought of what had just happened from their minds. It wasn't long before they had a sedated and restrained weevil in the back of the SUV, and were driving back to the Hub to get it into the Vaults. When they'd parked outside, they got out – Jack holding the passenger door open for Jenny. Then, before they took the weevil inside, he kissed her again, tenderly, just for a few seconds.

They didn't know that the Doctor – who had been in the TARDIS, looking for a piece of equipment he needed – had seen them. And he was fuming.

**Ooh, cliffhanger! Now… review. Every time someone reads without reviewing, chibi!Ten puts an extra weevil in chibi!Jack's office. **


	7. Revenge Is A Dish Best Served In Secret

**Look at that, two updates in one afternoon. Go me! Anyway… this chapter's not going to be very fun for poor Jack. But it'll be okay, I promise.**

**Guess what? I don't own Doctor Who. **

The rest of that day, nothing unusual happened. Jack – who had been half-expecting to face a furious Doctor the moment he stepped into the Hub – breathed a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, that was a little premature. After the Doctor had seen what happened, he knew that Jack had ignored their conversation that morning, and set about planning the "trouble" he'd promised would happen.

The next day (a Tuesday), there was a slight "malfunction" in the locking mechanisms on the cells occupied by weevils. A "malfunction" that involved all the doors being open. The team was able to round up the escapees, but it was still a definite pain in the you-know-what for a team that already had other things to do. Although they never found out, the source of the "malfunction" was the Doctor, using his sonic screwdriver to lock all the door mechanisms on "open".

On Wednesday, he went for something a little more ambitious, though still involving weevils. In short, he sonic screwdriver'd the trapdoor down to Jack's bedroom to get it open, then went to the vaults, fetched a couple of the smaller weevils, and pushed them down the ladder into Jack's bedroom before shutting the trapdoor again. The Doctor then wandered off (but not out of earshot), and fiddled with some bits of alien tech while listening to Jack's shouts as he woke up, saw the weevils, and was promptly attacked by the weevils. Twenty minutes later, the trapdoor rose and Jack climbed out, bruised and with long, bloody gashes on his arms and chest. He looked around and saw the Doctor. "Doc… didn't you hear anything just now?  
"What? Oh, no… I was paying attention to this. Why?"  
"_Somehow_, two weevils got into my bedroom and attacked me."

"That's not good. I thought they weren't that intelligent."  
"Quite." Jack looked at the Doctor suspiciously.

"Do you want some help getting them back in the Vaults?"  
"Yeah. All right."

Thursday was an interesting day for Jack, too. Mostly because when he stepped out of his office to get coffee, some equipment rigged up over the office door sprayed liquid over his head, shoulders and chest.

Quite thick, brown liquid. He sniffed it, and realised what it was… a second too late. Before he could get back inside the office, the pterodactyl had swooped down on him, sharp beak stabbing at him repeatedly. Jack woke up lying on the floor, and saw Gwen kneeling next to him looking concerned. "Jack? What happened? I scared the pterodactyl off…"  
"The pterodactyl… attacked me."  
"What? Why? I thought she was trained to only eat things with the sauce on."  
"She is. Somehow the sauce got onto me."

Gwen looked at her boss, and saw traces of the dark-brown liquid on his clothes.

"How did that happen?"  
"Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea." He got up and went looking for the Doctor.

"Doctor!"

"Jack? What is it?" The Doctor looked at him, his face the picture of innocence. "What happened to you?"  
"I had a run-in with the pterodactyl. Only, it shouldn't have happened because the pterodactyl only eats things covered with the special sauce. And someone rigged up equipment that would spray me with the sauce when I left my office. Any idea who that might have been?"  
"A disgruntled staff member?"  
"I don't have that many staff, and the only one who's angry with me is you, Doc."

"Ah."  
"Did you do it?"  
"Yes."  
"Should I bother asking why?"

"I'll tell you. You promised that nothing would happen with Jenny. Then I saw you two kissing, which fits my definition of "something". I told you there'd be trouble."  
"I didn't think you meant this!" Jack turned and left, heading for the shower and a change of clothes.

Later on Thursday, Jack went to find Jenny and suggested that they go for a walk. She liked the idea, so they headed out to walk around the Bay.

"So… this is nice, but I think there's something you want to tell me. Right?"  
"Yeah. It's your dad. He's… punishing me. He set the damn pterodactyl on me this morning, and yesterday I woke up to weevils in my bedroom."

"He's punishing you… for kissing me?"  
"That's what he told me."

"Ohh… I hoped he wouldn't do anything like that. I'm going to have a serious talk with him when I get back."  
"Just be careful, or he'll send the pterodactyl after you, too."  
"No, I think that was just you. Jack… what Dad did to you… it hasn't changed your mind, has it? You still like me?"  
"Without wishing to tempt fate – or your dad – it would take a lot more than two weevils and a pterodactyl to make me stop liking you."

She smiled. "Good."

That evening, Jenny, Donna and the Doctor had gone back to the house they were using. Donna had gone to the supermarket, so Jenny and her dad were alone.

"Dad? Can I talk to you?"  
"What is it, Jenny?"  
"It's about Jack."

"Oh. What did he tell you?"  
"That you're punishing him because he kissed me. Is that true?"  
"Well, yes. I talked to him about you. He promised that nothing would happen and he broke that promise the next day."  
"But that was a stupid promise! You shouldn't have made him promise anything. You can't control how he feels and you can't control how I feel."  
The Doctor looked at her, puzzled. "Have you been talking to Donna about this?"  
"Don't change the subject! Why have you got such a problem with the idea of us being together?"

"I'm just trying to protect you! I know Jack, and I know his past. He's… I'm afraid he'll hurt you. He probably says that he'd never do that, now, but I'm afraid he will. Maybe not tomorrow or next week or next month, but eventually he will."  
"We won't be here next month! Me leaving with you and Donna when the TARDIS is fixed is more likely to hurt him than he is to hurt me."

"You can't blame me for trying to protect you."  
"Yeah, I can. Because there's protecting me from aliens who might kill me, and there's "protecting" me from… from having fun, from Jack, from having a life. You're my dad, and I love you, but you have to let me live my life. And if me being with Jack is a mistake, then that's good, because if you don't let me make any mistakes, how can I learn from them?"

He looked up at her, and said quietly. "You're right."  
"I am?"

"Yes. You're exactly right. It's just… I had a family, once. Children. Grandchildren. And I lost them. And then you came along… I don't want to lose you, like I lost them."  
"Why would you? It's not like I'm running off into space by myself."  
"You really like him, don't you?"  
"Yeah, I do. He's amazing. We can talk about anything. We have fun together. And somehow, I know that if anything bad ever happened, he would protect me with his life."

"That sounds like him."

"So… no more punishments? Can Jack relax now?"  
"No more punishments."

"Good." She went to the telephone, and dialled Jack's mobile number (there was a list of Important Phone Numbers pinned up next to the phone).

"Jack? It's me."  
"What is it?"  
"I spoke to Dad. I explained things. He's OK with it now."

"So no more revenge?"  
"No, no more revenge."

"That's a relief. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"  
"Yeah. See you tomorrow." She hung up and went back to the living room, sitting down next to the Doctor.

**AND NOW AN URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT FROM CHIBI!NEWS…**

**Chibi!Newsreader: And it appears that a large group of chibis are holding Nicole hostage. Just now, we received a list of demands, delivered by a delegation consisting of a chibiDalek, a chibiCyberman and a chibiPterodactyl. The Chibis say that unless many reviews are received for this story, they will force the author to stop writing new material. On behalf of all in ChibiWorld, we at ChibiNews implore you, the reader, to REVIEW!!**


	8. Well, That Was Unexpected

**Whew. The chibis let me go… they had me tied up away from my computer and kept poking me with toothpicks. Well, chibi!Donna had a sword. No idea where she got that from.**

**So… now that I'm free again, there's a new chapter. And it has a nice big cliffhanger at the end. And some cute JackJenny stuff too. Enjoy!**

The next morning, Jack took the SUV to pick up Jenny, Donna and the Doctor from their house. He went in – he had a spare key – and saw Jenny coming downstairs.

"Jack! You here with the car?"

"Yeah. I thought it'd be easier than getting you guys your own car."

"That's nice of you. Considering… you know…"  
He gave a wry smile. "Hey, I'm not holding a grudge about any of _that_. I know why your dad did… what he did. I would've preferred it if he'd been able to come up with something that involved fewer pterodactyls, but it's okay."  
"Good." She hugged him. "I don't want you two fighting all the time, and certainly not over me."

"No fighting. I might be able to manage that." He kissed her softly. "If I try hard."

"You'd better try."  
"Or what?"  
"I'll think of something."  
"Okay… in many ways, you are far too much like your dad for me to be completely comfortable."

"It's okay, I was only joking… I'd never set Myfanwy on you."

They went outside to wait for the others to emerge.

"Jack… I was talking to Dad earlier."  
"Oh?"  
"Yeah. About his repairs… apparently things are going quite well."  
"That's good."  
"He said that if nothing unexpected happens, he might even be finished sooner than he expected. So we'd be able to use the TARDIS again."  
"Oh… so you might be leaving early?"  
"That's the problem. Um… I'm not sure I want to leave."  
He stared at her. "What?"

"I don't know… I think I might want to… um… stay here. With you."

"Have you told your dad this?"  
"Not yet."

"Er… good. Sensible idea, that."

"Jack… do you want me to stay?"  
He took a deep breath. "Oh, Jenny… yeah, I do. It's crazy, it's been less than two weeks… I've fallen in love with you. I would love it if you stayed… but I also think you should stick with your dad for a bit longer. He's probably got a lot of things to show you."

"But… out there, it's amazing, there's so much to see, so many adventures to have… but here, there are other kinds of adventures. The kind that involves less running. I think… I think I want those kind of adventures."

"Jenny… you're making this difficult."  
"Sorry?"  
"I was trying to prepare myself for you leaving. All the time we've been doing things together, I've been telling myself that soon you're going to leave again and that getting too attached is bad. I just wish I'd listened to my own advice."

"Don't worry about it so much. Everything will get sorted out, I promise. And Dad did say that we might be ready to go early _if nothing goes wrong_."  
"Ah… this _is_ your dad we're talking about. The chances of this happening the way it's meant to are pretty slim."  
"Exactly."

They were interrupted by Gwen calling Jack's mobile.

"What is it, Gwen?"  
"Jack, where are you?"  
"At the house, about to drive the others in."  
"Could you hurry up, then?"  
"What happened?"

"Er… nothing, yet."

"_Yet_? What do you mean _yet_?"

"There's something very weird going on. Unusual Rift activity all over the place."

"I'm on my way."

After finally getting Donna and the Doctor into the SUV, they sped towards the Hub. When the arrived, Gwen, Ianto and Martha were gathered around Gwen's workstation.

"Right. Talk to me, guys, what's happening?"

"The Rift activity is changing. Before it was random bursts of energy – not big ones, though – throughout the city."  
"And now?"  
"It's shifting. The bursts last longer, and they look like they're focused on a specific spot."  
"Which is?"  
"Here."

"Ah…" Jack turned to the Doctor. "Any ideas?"

The Doctor was frowning – Jack recognised the look as _I'm trying to work something out and my thought processes move at about three thousand miles an hour, so don't bother me_, so he turned back to Gwen. "Bring up the CCTV for the square."

She typed a few commands, and soon the CCTV feed for the square over their heads filled the screen. Nothing unusual was visible, though.

"Right. Whatever's going on, it hasn't finished yet. That's probably a good sign."

"That's it!" Jack turned to see the Doctor looking excited about something behind him. "I think these flares of energy mean that something's trying to get through the Rift."  
"Doctor, that happens all the time. It doesn't look like this."  
"No, creatures and objects get pulled through the Rift all the time. _Now_, something's trying to come through on purpose. Trying to use the Rift to get here on purpose. The flares that looked random… it's as if they were trying to hone their method of transport. Or they were trying to triangulate a particular position. Which, seeing as the flares are focused on this place, would be here."  
"Oh, _great_."

"Jack…." Gwen drew their attention back to the screen. "I think the Doctor's right".

They saw the Rift open a few feet above the ground. The opening was big… bigger than such openings would normally be. Before anyone could say anything, Jack and the Doctor were running outside, followed by everyone except Gwen, who stayed to monitor the Rift activity.

Outside in the square, they stopped near the water tower and watched as what looked like some kind of smallish spacecraft came through the Rift and landed neatly on the paving stones. They saw a door slide open, and three figures stepped out. The first, a slight Japanese woman wearing a leather jacket. The second, a dark-haired man of about the same height, wearing spectacles with chunky black plastic frames. The third, a woman with blonde hair. All three were dressed for combat, and all three carried guns.

**News from ChibiWorld:**** Oh, dear. I have a slight containment issue. The WhoChibis got out of their boxes, and they're off, um, making friends with some of the other Chibis. ChibiAdric is discussing quantum physics with chibiRiver and chibiDaniel-from-Lost. I think so, anyway. I lost track of that conversation five minutes after it started. And chibiMaster is plotting something with chibiBen-from-Lost, which is never going to be a good thing.**

**And chibiJack… is feeling a little lightheaded. I think the sudden discovery of attractive chibis from other fandoms has overwhelmed him a bit. He doesn't know who to go for, poor boy.**

**Anyway… the chibis say that seeing as everyone's been so kind with reviews so far… they'd quite like some more. And I would listen to them if I were you.**

**drags chibiOwen away from chibiSawyer before he starts a fight over chibiKate**

**Oh... and whoever guesses the identity of the three new arrivals gets a plushie Adipose baby of their very own.**


	9. Familiar Strangers and Old Friends

**New chapter! Most of you guessed right about the new arrivals, incidentally. This chapter, there are some rather interesting introductions to be made. Well, I say interesting… maybe I mean "awkward and hugely embarrassing", I do get those mixed up sometimes.**

**I don't own this. Reviews will a) make me update quicker and b)prevent the chibis from hunting you down and poking you with sharp toothpicks.**

The new arrivals looked around as they exited their craft, and were quick to notice the Torchwood team standing nearby. A team that was currently experiencing emotions ranging from confusion, through surprise and ending with shock.

The reason for the range of emotions was that, apart from Donna and Jenny (who were contributing the "confusion" part), everyone thought they recognised at least one of the newcomers. Or, in Jack's case, all three.

When the three newcomers had assured themselves it was safe, they turned their attention to the group standing by the water tower. The blonde woman turned towards them, and suddenly Jack's and the Doctor's eyes widened as they simultaneously murmured "_Rose…_".

"Doctor? Is that you?" She walked towards them curiously.

"Rose? Rose Tyler?"  
"Yeah."

He stepped closer to her, studying her face carefully. "How? How are you here?"

"That's kind of a long story."  
"You're not here to take over the universe, then?"  
"Uh… no. Definitely not that."  
"Oh, good…" he was cut off when she saw Jack.

"Jack! What are you doing here?" She hugged him.

"I work here now."  
"You're not travelling any more?"  
"Er… no." Jack shot a questioning look at the Doctor, who just shrugged.

"Oh. Right. Well… it's… um, good to see you, anyway."

"You too. But… Rose, what _are _you doing here? The Doctor told me you were trapped."  
"Ever heard of a Rift?"  
"Oh, yes."  
"Torchwood – the place I work for in the other universe – has been researching the Rift. Our scientists found a way of using it to travel between worlds."  
"You work for Torchwood?"  
"Yes… why?"  
"So do I. Only my Torchwood can't manipulate the Rift like yours apparently can."  
"Oh… maybe we can swap notes later."

"Rose… the other people who came with you, who are they? Because they look a lot like some friends of mine who died not so long ago."  
"They do? That's strange. Must be a parallel-world thing." She motioned for her companions to join them. "Jack, this is Owen, he's the medical officer, and Toshiko, she's a real genius with technology."

When Rose introduced her team, Jack went very pale. Not only did these people look like his Owen and his Toshiko, but they had the same names and the same specialties.

The man – Rose's Owen – reached out a hand. "Owen Harper. Nice to meet you."

"Er…" Jack swallowed hard. "Yeah, you too." He shook Harper's hand awkwardly. His hand even felt like Owen's… except for one thing. Jack looked down and saw a plain gold ring on one finger. "You're married, Mr Harper?"

"Yeah." Harper put his free arm around the other Toshiko's waist, and smiled. "A year ago last month. We met at work."

The-other-Toshiko smiled at him. "Toshiko Sato-Harper. So… you work for the Torchwood organisation in this world?"

"Well… yes. I pretty much run it, actually. I don't know how much Rose told you… the main Torchwood office here, in London, was destroyed a few years ago."  
"Ah, yes, she told us. She's a real asset to our organisation."

"That sounds about right." He was now feeling very uncomfortable. "Er… could you excuse me for a moment?"

He escaped as quickly as he could, and sat down on one of the benches in the square. Martha came over and sat down next to him. "Are you all right, Jack?"  
"Er… I don't know… it's just…"  
She touched his arm gently. "I know, Jack. You're freaking out because the people who came through with Rose are basically other versions of Owen and Tosh and you don't think you're going to be able to handle that."

He looked at her, surprised. "How did you know that?"  
"Seriously? You're kinda predictable sometimes."  
"Damn. And I was trying so hard not to be. You're right, though."  
"You'll be okay, Jack. You've handled worse."

"Martha… they were my friends. And I lost them and I had to say goodbye. I had to get used to the idea that they weren't around any more. And then Rose, of all people, shows up, and she brings with her two people who basically _are_ Owen and Tosh from another world."  
"Look, you can't get worked up over this. And don't think of Rose's people as "Owen and Tosh". Think of them as if you've never met them before. And for god's sake, Jack, don't make any references to things that our Owen and our Tosh would know about. This isn't them. It's just two people who look like them."  
"I'm not completely clueless, Martha."

"I'm just trying to help!"

"Yeah… sorry. Thanks. I think I'll be all right." He smiled weakly. "I just need time to adjust."  
"Good. Adjusting is good." She hugged him briefly. "You'll be okay."

"Thanks, Martha. For everything."

Meanwhile, Rose and the Doctor had been getting reacquainted. The Doctor had also introduced Martha and Donna… and then Jenny came over. Rose looked the other blonde girl up and down. "Doctor, who's this?"

"Er… this is going to sound a little strange…"  
"I'm used to strange, Doctor."

"Well… Rose, this is Jenny. My daughter. Jenny, this is Rose."  
"Your _daughter_?"  
"Yeah. Very long story."

Jenny smiled broadly. "Hi, Rose. I've heard a lot about you. It's nice to meet you at last."  
"You have?"

"Uh-huh. From Dad and Jack."

"Oh… of course. Um… nice to meet you too, Jenny."  
The Doctor interrupted. "Er… Jenny, could you give us a minute? I need to talk to Rose alone."  
"Okay." She left, heading in Jack's direction, and the Doctor and Rose watched her go.

"Your _daughter_. She's your daughter."

"Yeah. There was a progenation machine and a stolen DNA sample, and the result was her."  
"So… is she Time Lord? Or Time Lady, or whatever the female equivalent is."  
"Not exactly. By genetics she is, yes."  
"Right. Obviously you've been busy since I saw you last."

"Just the usual."

Rose happened to glance in Jack's direction. "Doctor… why did I just see your daughter kiss Jack?"

"Oh. Well, they're sort of together."  
"As in, a couple?"

"Yeah."  
"And you let that happen?"  
"Hey, I fought against it! I clearly told Jack to stay away from her, but he didn't, and then they started … well, you know…"  
"Doctor, what did you do?"  
He assumed a look of wounded innocence. "Nothing."  
"Doctor, tell me."  
"I might have set a few traps for Jack."  
"Like what?"  
"One of them involved a pterodactyl."  
She shook her head in disbelief. "Oh my god, have you regressed to a twelve-year-old or what? I would have thought you'd be more mature."  
"I was just trying to protect her."  
"Oh… yeah. Because of…" she doesn't even need to finish the sentence. She just looks at him, and he knows what she means. He nods curtly, the only answer she's ever going to get to _that_ question. For a split second, she thinks she sees something in his eyes. Something old, an old wound that is only now starting to heal. But before she can read it properly, it's gone.

"Rose… I missed you. I missed you so much. I found other people… Martha, Donna… but it wasn't the same. It wasn't like it is with you."  
"I missed you too. I thought about you every day. When this mission came up… exploring the other side of the Rift to see what was there… I volunteered. I was hoping that the Rift might come out here, and that I would find you."  
"And you did." He grins at her.  
"Yeah. Doctor… you remember the last time we saw each other, right?"  
"Like it was yesterday."  
"I love you. You know that, right?"

He catches her up in a hug, and whispers his answer in her ear. "I do. I love you too." Then he kisses her, softly at first, then deeper, more passionately. Part of him worries, he hasn't done this for a long time (a certain genetic transfer with Martha doesn't count, after all).

They're disturbed from what feels like an endless embrace by three voices (two feminine, one higher than the other, and one very masculine tenor) all shouting "Hey!" at the same time. Rose and her Doctor separate (but keep hold of each other's hand) to see Jenny, Jack and Donna looking at them.

Jenny is frowning. Jack is furious. Donna's expression is a combination of amusement and a touch of _Oh dear what's he done now_.

The Doctor gulps, his adam's apple bobbing noticeably in his throat. "Er…"

**Everyone, this is chibi!Ace. She's been very busy making up lots of Nitro-9 recently. Now, if this story doesn't get plenty of reviews, she might be forced to use it. You know what to do, people.**


	10. Time Lords Don't Grovel To Anyone

**-**_**prises Nitro-9 away from chibi-Ace**_**- No, Ace, you can't blow anything up. Back to your box!**

**Anyway…. Yeah, new chapter. Let's just say that this one isn't much fun for the Doctor. Jack is **_**angry**_** today. **_**Really**_** angry. Poor Doctor!**

The Doctor looked from Jenny, to Jack, to Donna, then back to Rose, who looked up at him and shrugged. "We didn't do anything wrong. You'll be fine."

Jenny looked puzzled. "Dad…."

"Oh, um. I probably should have said how I felt about Rose, right?"

"It's not that. Um… Rose?"

"Yeah?"  
"How old are you?"  
"What? I'm twenty-five."  
"And how old would you say I am?"  
Rose looked at her. "Um… about 20, maybe 21."

"Which is old enough to make my own decisions, yeah?"  
"Yeah. Why?"  
"My dad's protective of you, isn't he?"  
"Um, yeah."

"Same here. So, Dad, I'm too young to know who I want to be with, but _she_ isn't? Is that right, or am I missing something?"  
He gulped. "Um… it's not that simple, Jenny."

Jack interrupted. "It doesn't look that complicated to me, Doc." The Doctor turns to the ex-Time Agent… he's smiling, but it's not a happy smile. It occurs to the Doctor that when most mammals bare their teeth like that, it's a warning sign. The equivalent of saying _Oh no you don't_, or maybe _back off, now_. He wonders vaguely if either of those applies to Jack now.

"Well, it is. Jenny might look about Rose's age, but she isn't. In normal terms she's a child."  
"Except that there's nothing _normal_ about this. She's not a child. So what, exactly, gives you the right to say that Jenny can't be with who she wants, but when Rose shows up she can?"

"You're not going to accept "I'm her father" as a valid reason, are you?"  
"No. She told me, Doctor. About how you acted towards her on Messaline. It's not as if she was created and you embraced her with open arms, is it? No, you had to be shown that she was yours, didn't you?"

At this news, Rose turned to him. "Is that true?"  
"Oh, not you too… yes, it's true. That DNA sample was stolen at gunpoint you know."  
"But you know if someone's a Time Lord just by looking at them. Or did that just apply to the Master?" Jack added. "If it didn't, you'd have known who and what she was the minute you saw her."  
The Doctor sighs. "It's really not that easy, Jack. But… you are partly right. I didn't want to think of her as my daughter – _at first_ – after what happened to the family I used to have. But then I got used to the idea… I'm protective of Jenny because she's the only family I've got left. The reason I didn't accept your relationship at first is because of that, not because of you, Jack."

"Wow. An honest answer. Makes a change."

"Oh, shut it." Jack opened his mouth to complain, but the Doctor ignored him and focused on Jenny.

"Jenny, I should have told you more about me and Rose. I'm sorry I didn't. And I'm sorry for how I reacted to you and Jack. But you have to understand that I just wanted to look after you. You do know that, don't you?"  
She looked up at him, sulky. "I suppose so. But you could have told me that before, instead of being so _childish_ and setting those horrible traps for Jack."

"Er… yeah, can't argue with that. Am I forgiven?"  
"I forgive you. It might take a bit longer for Jack to, though." She smiled, and went over to Rose. "Now, I get the feeling that you know lots of stories about my dad. Why don't we go and get you a drink, and you can tell me some of them?"

Rose looked faintly surprised. "Er… yeah, sure. Okay. Um… Doctor, I'll see you later, okay?"  
"Fine." As the two girls walked away, already talking, the Doctor felt someone staring at him. He turned to see Jack, and knew that he definitely wasn't forgiven yet.

"Jack, I explained myself. What more do you want?"  
"Just this." The Captain swung a punch at him – a perfect right hook, the Doctor noted. Obviously Jack had been practising. The punch connected, and he stumbled back a little. Before he could recover, Jack had something else to say. "It's because of Jenny that you only got the one punch. Also, you're a hypocrite. I might forgive you one day, if you're lucky. I'm working on it." With that, he turned and walked away towards the entrance to the Hub, coattails flapping in the wind.

The Doctor sat down on the ground, touching his cheek gingerly. "_Ow_." Donna came over and sat down next to him.

"That looked painful."  
"It is. He's got a good punch, I'll give him that. I'd almost rather be slapped by Jackie Tyler again." He paused. "Well… almost…"

"He'll get over it, you know."  
"You think?"  
"He's tough. But he does have weak spots. You, Jenny, his team. Rose. I think, after you spent the last week or so constantly nagging him and glaring at him and generally trying to scare him off, what you just did with Rose looked like insult added to injury. From his perspective, anyway."

"Run that by me again."  
She rolled her eyes. "For someone who's meant to be so intelligent, you can be incredibly stupid sometimes. You spent the last week telling him he couldn't be with Jenny. Now, it's obvious that he cares about her a lot, and equally obvious that she feels the same. So for Jack, seeing you kissing Rose was like…" she sighed, searching for a way to say what she meant. "…it was like you were telling him _You can't be with the girl you like, but I can be with the girl I like_. That's why he's pissed off at you."  
"Really?"

"Well, I can't actually read minds, but years of gossip and soap operas means that I can tell these things. Trust me on this one."  
He considered Donna's theory. "Anything I can do to fix it?"  
"Um… grovelling apologies are good."  
"I am not grovelling to Jack. I'll apologise, but no grovelling. I don't grovel to anyone."

"Fine, okay… keep going with the apologies then. He'll probably try avoiding you for a few days. Or weeks. Maybe months, so you might want to think about that."  
"Months? How angry can he be?"  
"Well. Very. You hurt his feelings, Doctor. Feelings take time to repair."

"Oh, great."

--

**Whew. Chibi-Jack's really angry right now. He keeps running around kicking things. So far he's kicked thirteen weevils, four slitheen and a sycorax so hard that they're all unconscious now. And he keeps looking at chibi-Ten in a funny way. **

**If you don't review, chibi-Jack gets told how to find you and sent to kick you into unconsciousness too. On the other hand, lots of reviews will result in him getting serious anger management therapy, and a punching bag. Your choice.**


	11. Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

_**-hugs chibiJack-**_** There, there… no need to be so angry… now off you go, play with chibiIanto for a while. **

**Now. New chapter… in which the non-immortal Torchwood employees experience awkwardness around certain recent arrivals, and Jack opens up about his feelings.**

_**-enter chibiSarah Jane-**_** Hi! So, Nicole asked me to come explain to you that she doesn't own **_**Doctor Who**_**. Has everyone got that? Go-- **_**-chibiFour interrupts-**_** Sarah Jane, come on… we've got places to be, you know! The readers know she doesn't own us by now, it's fine, come on! **_**-chibiSarah Jane shrugs-**_** Fine. Coming! **_**–she runs off into chibiFour's TARDIS-**_

**Yikes. Chibis. Anyhoo… murder is bad, Reviews are good. -hinthint-**

While the Doctor was trying to explain himself, Gwen and Ianto were having a few problems of their own.

Well, two, to be exact. They'd recognised Rose's team as well, and they'd heard Jack's conversation with them, so they knew that a)the people standing nearby talking to each other weren't _their_ Owen and _their_ Toshiko and b)the other Owen and other Toshiko were married.

"Okay… we can do this. We can talk to them. How hard can it be?" Gwen looked at them, and felt Ianto put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"It'll be fine. Just don't start thinking that it's them, somehow come back. It isn't. It's just two people who look like them. Two _strangers_ who look like them."

"Yeah. Strangers. Okay, good… this is still going to be hard though."

"I find that most of the really important things in life usually are. You'll be fine."

In the end, Gwen didn't have to go up to them, because they approached her and Ianto first. Other-Toshiko (it helped to think of them like that) spoke.

"Excuse me… do you work for Torchwood as well?"

"Um, yeah. Gwen Cooper. This is Ianto Jones."

She was surprised to see other-Toshiko pale, and turn to whisper something to her husband.

"Is everything okay?"

"Oh. Yes. It's just… did you used to be a police officer?"  
"Yes, how did you know that?"  
"In the universe we came from, with Miss Tyler… we worked at Torchwood together. And at our Torchwood, there was a young lady called Gwen Cooper who had previously worked as a police officer. In our Torchwood she worked in Public Relations. And there's a Ianto Jones at our Torchwood… in the administrative department."

Gwen and Ianto just stared at her. "Seriously?"  
"Of course, why would I lie about that?"

"Oh. Right. Sorry… but there used to be an Owen Harper and a Toshiko Sato _here_, as well."  
"What happened?"

"They died. In the line of duty."

"I'm sorry. This must be difficult for you."

Soon, Ianto was talking with other-Owen and other-Toshiko. Gwen had escaped for a moment. She needed to think, and preferably do it somewhere where she didn't have to look at the newcomers. Normally she would have talked to Jack, but she saw him arguing with the Doctor about something, with Jenny, Donna and Rose standing nearby and occasionally contributing, so she decided it was best not to disturb him. She ended up hiding in the tourist office, sitting on the floor in the back room where Ianto kept a kettle and various boxes of extra leaflets and things.

She was sitting there when she heard the door open and someone storm through towards the Hub entrance – she looked around just in time to see that it was Jack, but he was gone before she managed to say anything.

She pulled herself to her feet, ran her fingers through her hair, and took a deep breath before heading down into the Hub.

--

After looking around for Jack, she eventually found him in the firing range. He was firing round after round into the paper targets, which were looking a lot more shredded than they usually did. She waited until he stopped to reload.

"Jack?"

He spun around, but visibly relaxed when he saw her. "Gwen… what are you doing down here?"  
"I was worried about you. Came down here to make sure you were okay."

"That's sweet of you. I'm fine."  
"You don't _look_ fine. I saw you arguing with the Doctor. What did he say to you?"

"It's not what he said." Jack reloaded his revolver, and fired another six shots at one of the targets, then turned to her and almost snarled "It's what he did."

"Okay… what did he do?"

"He kissed Rose."

Gwen blinked. _That_ was the problem? "Er… Jack… why is that a bad thing?"

"Ever since I met him, it was obvious that Rose had feelings for the Doctor, but he was too busy being all pure and noble to actually do anything about it. He had the nerve to tell me and Jenny that he didn't want us to be together, without ever giving us a real reason, expecting us to be as saintly as he pretends to be… then Rose finds a way back and he's all over her! Hypocrite."

"That's… it? There isn't anything else?"  
"Excuse me?"  
"I'm sorry, Jack, you're obviously angry about this, but… is that it? It doesn't seem that big a deal to me."

"You don't understand."

"Okay… it's okay, Jack, maybe I don't. But I can still see that you using up a few dozen boxes of ammunition down here isn't going to fix anything."

"It's making me feel better."

"There's something else that would make you feel better too, you know."  
"Oh?"

"Talking to people. Jenny, me, Ianto, the nearest weevil… I don't care who. But you're angry, and you've had your feelings hurt, and you need to talk about it to someone."

He opened his mouth to reply, but instead just looked at her. Then he put his revolver down and turned to face her. "You're… you're right. I'm sorry, Gwen. You're right."

She smiles. "So… leave the gun here, and we'll go and sit down somewhere and talk, okay?"

He considers it for a moment, then nodded. They walked up to his office together, not speaking again until they got there.

"Now, I know what you said downstairs, but you can't be angry because of that. From what I've seen, it looks like the Doctor just wants to protect Jenny. Put yourself in his place. If you had a daughter like her, and she was in a relationship with someone, wouldn't you want to protect her?"

"Yeah. I guess I would."

"So why are you so upset by him being with Rose, if you understand his position?"  
"I understand him wanting to protect Jenny. Right now that's about the only thing we agree on. I just wish he'd come out and said that to start with, instead of spending his time glaring at me and taking the moral high ground. And… look, when I first met the Doctor and Rose, I liked her. I really, really liked her. That time… when I was travelling with them… I fell in love with them, both of them. And they left me behind. Years later, for me, I heard about Canary Wharf and I thought Rose had died. And then I found _him_ again, and I realised that he'd known what I was all along, but he still hadn't come looking for me. Not even to tell me that Rose was alive after all. It took a trip to the end of the universe to make him do that. And then Jenny came into my life, and changed everything." He looks at Gwen. "I love her. It's as if… all the things that I used to love about _him_, are in _her_. I can hardly imagine what it would be like not having her around. I talked to her earlier… about when the Doctor moves on again. She said she's thinking about staying here. With me."

Gwen raised an eyebrow. "She is? She hasn't told anyone else about that, then? Because she didn't mention it to me."

"No, she hasn't told anyone apart from me. We're not sure what we're going to do yet. I… if I could, I'd go with them. I'd go with the Doctor and Jenny and Rose when they leave… and Rose will go with him, you know. But I can't. Too much to do here."

Gwen laughed softly. "It's not just you, Jack. There are other people defending the Earth from alien attack as well."  
"What are you saying?"  
"You've taught us so much… we've seen so many crazy things… and we could manage without you. We did it once before, and that wasn't a complete disaster. And now… we'd have Martha, and she's almost as much of an authority on aliens as you are. And I was talking to Donna earlier… she mentioned that she quite liked living in Cardiff, and how she might be interested in hanging around for a while, and maybe working with us here."

"Really? I'll talk to her about that. But still… I would feel bad, leaving you like that. Again."  
She rolled her eyes. "Jack, you can't always be around to look after us. We have to stand up for ourselves eventually. If it would make you happy to go travelling again, maybe you should. You _are_ allowed to be happy, you know. Maybe this is what's best for us."

"Maybe. Thanks, Gwen… I need to think about some things, do you mind giving me a minute on my own?"  
"Not at all. I should probably go and make sure the media haven't swarmed all over the Plass anyway." She walked out of his office with a small smile.

**That was a good chapter, wasn't it? Now review, or the chibiBruce Banner I met today will turn into chibiHulk and squash you. **

**(can you guess I saw The Incredible Hulk today?)**


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